Oakland Public Works and Transportation Committee Meeting - October 13, 2026

The Public Works and Transportation Committee of the Oakland City Council met on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Chair Zac Unger presided; Councilmembers Unger, Ken Houston, and Noel Gallo were present, and Councilmember Charlene Wang was excused. The committee voted unanimously, 3-0 on every roll call, on all items requiring a vote. It approved the minutes and the amended schedule of outstanding items, and it forwarded five construction and grant resolutions to the October 20, 2026 City Council consent calendar and the capital-improvement audit to the non-consent calendar. According to the draft minutes, the meeting convened at 11:32 a.m. and adjourned at 1:05 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• The committee did not use a separate consent calendar, but the following items were approved unanimously and forwarded to the October 20, 2026 City Council consent calendar: East 12th Street Bikeway construction contract; Liberation Park Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities amendment; MLK Jr. Way construction management services; ready-mix concrete procurement; and EPA Arroyo Viejo Creek PCB remediation grant.
• Draft minutes of the September 22, 2026 committee meeting were approved 3-0.
• The outstanding committee items schedule was approved as amended 3-0, removing the 2025 Safe Oakland Streets annual informational report from the October 27, 2026 Public Works and Transportation Committee agenda because it had been inadvertently placed there.

Public Comments and Testimony

• Ms. Sada Olabala, a public speaker, voiced opposition or concern on multiple items: she questioned how protected bike lanes are swept and called for equitable bike-lane placement across East and West Oakland; she questioned the city's parking arrangement with the ice center and said sidewalk lawsuits need discussion; she demanded more race equity in construction hiring and subcontracting and more Black workers on city projects; she criticized what she described as small allocations to Black cultural institutions compared with larger city allocations in the Liberation Park grant; she challenged the waiver of sanctuary city and border-wall contracting prohibitions for concrete suppliers and said the city's position was inconsistent; she asked whether the EPA grant required matching funds; and in Open Forum she questioned pay raises for city employees who do not live in Oakland.
• Kevin Daly, a public speaker, expressed support for the East 12th Street Bikeway, the MLK Jr. Way streetscape work, and the ready-mix concrete procurement; he praised the city auditor's report, noted Oakland's 30-year ADA consent decree, and asked for clearer statements about air-quality benefits.
• Blair Beekman signed up on several items but was not recognized in the queue.

Discussion Items

East 12th Street Bikeway Construction Contract Award

• Department of Transportation staff recommended awarding a $5,055,898 construction contract to McGuire and Hester, the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, with authority for change orders up to 25% of the base award ($1,263,974.50), and CEQA findings. The project closes a one-mile bikeway gap between International Boulevard at 54th Avenue and the Fruitvale BART station, adding protected bike lanes, ADA improvements, signal upgrades, and traffic calming. Four bids were received on July 2, 2026. Funding comes from an Alameda County Transportation Commission grant, Measure U, and gas tax. Construction was estimated to begin in spring 2027 and finish around mid-to-end 2028.
• Councilmember Houston asked about SLBE/LBE participation, noting a proposed $1,384,148 in certified small and very small local business work and a 52.94% local participation figure with a 63.02% credit. Staff said change orders are evaluated case by case and the whole project must still meet minimum SLBE/LBE requirements. The Assistant City Administrator noted that DWESS is piloting B2G software with HCD to track prime-to-subcontractor payments and will report back.
• Approved 3-0 and forwarded to the October 20, 2026 City Council consent calendar.

Amendment to Resolution No. 91091 C.M.S. - Liberation Park

• Staff described the item as a technical amendment to accept and appropriate up to $44,661,404 in State of California Round 8 2024-2025 Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities loan and grant funds for the Residences at Liberation Park. It changes the recipient of a portion of the funds and adjusts funding amounts; the projects are unchanged. The state requires the amended resolution before releasing funds.
• A public speaker criticized the grant's race-equity statement and the size of allocations to Black cultural institutions compared with city allocations.
• Approved 3-0 and forwarded to the October 20, 2026 City Council consent calendar.

MLK Jr. Way Streetscape Improvements Construction Management Support Services

• Staff recommended a $4,000,000 professional services agreement with Azad Engineering PC, an Oakland SLBE-certified firm, to provide construction management, resident engineering, inspection, and materials testing for the MLK Jr. Way Streetscape Improvements Project between 2nd and 14th Streets. The project includes pedestrian crossings, lighting, street trees, seating, a two-way cycle track, and signal upgrades. Azad proposed to self-perform 70% of the scope. DOT's construction management team has an 80% vacancy rate, which staff cited as the reason for contracting out.
• Public comment included support from Kevin Daly and questions from Ms. Olabala about air-quality claims and workforce equity.
• Approved 3-0 and forwarded to the October 20, 2026 City Council consent calendar.

Ready-Mix Concrete Procurement

• Staff recommended authorizing as-needed purchases from CalPortland, CEMEX, and one additional eligible ready-mix supplier for four years, up to $400,000 per supplier per year, $1,200,000 annually, and $4,800,000 total; paying up to $70,000 in unpaid CalPortland invoices; waiving competitive bidding and open-market purchase requirements; and granting limited restricted waivers of the Border Wall Contracting Prohibition and the Sanctuary City Contracting Prohibition for CalPortland and CEMEX, with conditional waiver for a third supplier, plus CEQA findings.
• Staff explained that ready-mix concrete is essential for in-house sidewalk and ADA curb-ramp work, that a 2025 request for quotes received no responses, and that only two ready-mix providers currently operate in Oakland. CalPortland and CEMEX accepted purchase-order terms but declined the city's additional Schedule I and Schedule W certifications, citing administrative burden and available private-sector work. A third supplier could be added if a plant reopens, such as Sierra Pacific's former Wood Street plant.
• Councilmember Houston requested the concrete mix designs to research other suppliers and asked about local employment and pre-mix trucks. Staff said CalPortland could not estimate its Oakland workforce and that the city's equipment backlog exceeds $50 million.
• Approved 3-0 and forwarded to the October 20, 2026 City Council consent calendar.

Audit of Capital Improvement Program Financial Management

• City Auditor Michael Houston presented an audit covering July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025. The city spent about $300 million on capital projects in that period, with Measure K the largest source at $153 million.
• The audit found four main problem areas: (1) outdated and non-formally-adopted construction management guidance, inconsistent approvals, long change-order issuance times (average 79 days, median 35, against a 30-day goal), and high vacancies (about half of construction management civil engineer positions vacant and 7.6 of 14.6 FTE vacant in the Capital Contracts Division); (2) weak payment controls, including $35,000 in overpayments on 7 of 46 reviewed projects, average invoice processing time of 47 days, $66,000 in interest paid because of late payments, and 4 of 28 sampled change-order transactions without funds reserved; (3) inadequate oversight of Measure KK and Measure U bond funds, including a wrong-fund transaction, a sewer-fund mischarge on a transportation project, and missing required annual audits; and (4) lack of a comprehensive long-term capital plan since fiscal year 2022-23, with 5 of 92 reviewed change orders potentially avoidable through better pre-construction planning.
• The auditor made 17 recommendations, and city administration agreed or partly agreed with all 17. Administration committed to updating and adopting the construction management manual by February 2027, developing written on-call contract guidance, strengthening payment and segregation-of-duties controls, and pursuing a 10-year capital improvement plan with annual reporting.
• In discussion, Chair Unger noted a prior Finance Committee report showing capital projects paid on time about 55% versus 90% for other projects. Councilmember Houston pressed for design-build project delivery and for change orders above certain dollar amounts to return to council; Public Works Director Liam Garland said the department is open to design-build for large facility projects and would discuss reporting thresholds.
• Approved 3-0 and forwarded to the October 20, 2026 City Council non-consent calendar so the auditor could present to the full council.

EPA San Francisco Bay Program Grant - Arroyo Viejo Creek

• Public Works staff recommended accepting up to $3,000,000 from the U.S. EPA San Francisco Bay Program for PCB remediation in Arroyo Viejo Creek, with CEQA findings. The grant supports a 2022 cleanup order by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board under which the city and Union Pacific Railroad were named jointly responsible parties. Remediation costs are estimated at up to approximately $8 million, with a 50/50 cost share; the city's share would otherwise be about $4 million.
• In response to a public question, staff confirmed the grant requires a 25% match, or $1 million, with sources identified in the agenda report as the Monsanto Settlement and the City Facilities Fund.
• Approved 3-0 and forwarded to the October 20, 2026 City Council consent calendar.

Open Forum

• One speaker, Ms. Sada Olabala, spoke during Open Forum about city employee residency and pay raises. She said 32% of city employees live in Oakland, while 92% of police and an estimated 80-something percent of fire workers do not, and questioned whether Oakland residents should fund pay raises for non-resident employees.

Key Outcomes

• Every roll-call vote was 3-0, with Councilmember Wang excused.
• Items 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 were forwarded to the October 20, 2026 City Council consent calendar.
• Item 7 was forwarded to the October 20, 2026 City Council non-consent calendar.
• Item 1 (minutes) and Item 2 (outstanding items schedule) were approved as routine matters.
• Next steps include City Council action on October 20, 2026; administration implementation of the audit recommendations; DWESS and DOT tracking of SLBE payments; and follow-up on design-build opportunities and change-order reporting thresholds.

Note: The draft minutes open by referring to the Finance and Management Committee, while the agenda and transcript identify this body as the Public Works and Transportation Committee.